


Autonomous

by Artio



Category: Three Days Grace (Band)
Genre: Additional Tags Added As Needed, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Android!Adam, Android!Barry, Android!Brad, Android!Dani, Android!Matt, Android!Neil, Androids, Cyberpunk, Forbidden Love, M/M, Pain/Painkiller dichotomy, Slow Burn, Smoking, Tabloids, and apologies but the smoking is a bit glorified for aesthetic purposes, circa 2013 TDG and Adam, even though obviously it's set in a cyberpunk future, idol culture, in the creepy control their lives kind of way, post Adam leaving
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 10:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artio/pseuds/Artio
Summary: Autonomous (adjective, robotics) - Operating without pre-programmed behaviors and without supervision from humans.Matt is an entertainer, an android purchased specifically to put on shows for humans. Yet his ability as a lead singer is second to his public image. Entertainers that cause too big of a media fuss or too much backlash from fans are removed from the public eye, often permanently. The companies and handlers that own them are able to control every aspect of their lives that might be visible, from appearance to demeanor to relationships. Matt knows this, but he can't help being drawn towards a mysterious android he meets with behind the band's back. How long can they hide from the media, and the other android's past, before it all catches up to them?





	Autonomous

**Author's Note:**

> Well. Hi. Yeah, it's been another year+ since my last round of fic-posting even though I always say I'll try to not keep that habit... Anyway, I'm back for now and with a chaptered offering this time around. I've actually had this idea since 2017 right when Blade Runner 2049 was about to come out and the cyberpunk hype got me. Eventually left it for other ideas, but then this summer it came sneaking back up on my conscious out of nowhere and lo and behold just a few days after I went back over it, Adam was posting about his relapse, time in rehab in 2017, and the upcoming SA album, so this has all been kind of interesting timing. But yeah, hope you can dig this. A thank you to my bud, enabler, and braincell co-owner Esspe for all the help and support! You can find her on here as Esspe as well if you'd like.  
I'll be using the end notes for additional info that's relevant to each chapter like links to articles or songs whose lyrics are the chapter titles, that sort of thing. Think of it as like additional but not required reading if you want a bit more context on something.  
As always, you can still find me on the crumbling hellsite that is Tumblr at parti-hardi-arti. There's also now a Discord server for us especially wacky TDG fans in what we call the Gracedom so if you want a link to that or just me personally let me know. Happy reading!

_ It’s said that the second major product release is the true test of a brand’s quality. With Personage’s meteoric rise in countless industries, it’s hard to imagine the success they’ve had with their first line of androids being a fluke. Yet, the company has seemed almost reluctant to release their second line of androids. Until now, that is. _

_ According to business insider Isaac Silvers, we should expect to see Personage’s new android model in time for the holidays. Most of the specs online for a new model are pure speculation or wishful thinking, and Silvers doesn’t go into details himself, but it’s Silvers’ statements on the company’s goals that are getting attention.  _

_ “They’re hoping to push 1N models off the market,” he says in an article on his personal website. “Personage wants continuing customers to abandon their 1Ns and new customers to come in droves with the new model.”  _

_ These statements may be bold but they may not be entirely unfounded. While other android manufacturing companies have had issues with either capturing a large audience or keeping it over the long term, Personage’s jump from small company to household name with the release of the 1N model has been one for the record books, literally. The 1N model has become the third best selling android in history in its nine years since launch. _

_ A wider range of model specializations, more customization, and better, more human-like AI are well-supported rumors surrounding the upcoming release. There have also been patents for an array of modified inner components filed by Personage over the past year. Will these improvements be enough to end the market dominating run of the 1Ns? We might find out before the end of the year. _

* * *

The stranger nearby piqued Matt’s curiosity. They were far enough from the band that they weren’t being shooed off by Shawn since the meet and greet was over, but close enough that Matt was surprised they weren’t trying to get the band’s attention or sneak a photo. Instead, they stood against the wall, head down so their baseball cap obscured their face, and continued to smoke. While everyone else was paired off or grouped up, the band included, the figure stood alone like a smoky shadow in the fluorescent lights lining the outside of the venue. 

Matt wasn’t one to judge an all black outfit, but the layers and layers of it on the stranger was enough to be peculiar even at a rock concert. Black shoes, black jeans, a black hoodie with the hood up over the top of the black hat, even black gloves he could see as they took drags off their cigarette, and an occasional glint of light from a passing car gave away their sunglasses. They didn’t stick out, but were just odd enough they probably should’ve caught more notice. As it was, only Matt kept watch as another puff of smoke further disguised the figure’s face. Something about how blatant they were about trying to hide wouldn’t let go of his attention.

Brad, Neil, and Barry chatted beside him. It was nothing more than the usual post-concert talk, a little mistake one of them made, a particularly crazy fan another noticed, how the energy of the crowd felt that night. He could almost guess in order what the topics would be after each show. Not that he minded their conversation, in fact he was programmed to enjoy it, but it was something he could miss out on for once.

With a pair of quick pats on Brad’s shoulder to let him know he was stepping away for a moment, Matt headed over towards the stranger. They hadn’t budged though the crowds were down to a few persistent stragglers trying to sneak past Shawn and those taking extra time to leave thanks to being drunk. They didn’t even seem fazed by Matt walking towards them like he’d expect a wayward fan to be.

As he got closer he could make out two things: one, that the figure appeared to be a man with a short, dark beard peeking out from the shadows of their hood and hat; and two, that the cigarette in the man’s gloved hand was one of the old fashioned kind that required a separate lighter. Separate-lights were getting rarer and rarer to see, most of them were only still used by those who had been around when they were somewhat common and refused to switch to self-lights. 

Matt strolled right up to where the man was leaning against the wall like a shadow cast upon it. The man held the separate-light in his mouth and looked over at him, the dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes. “Yeah?” he asked, annoyed.

It wasn’t the friendly intro Matt expected for someone trying to keep within earshot of the band. “Are you waiting for someone?”

“Nope.” There was a second where each waited for the other to leave. Neither moved. “I know what time the place closes, you don’t have to tell me.” He took another inhale of his cigarette and blew the smoke in Matt’s direction. “Surely the smoking isn’t a problem.”

“The opposite, actually. I could use one myself.” Matt jumped at the opportunity to get his foot in the door. He didn’t have a good reason to approach the man, especially on his own with how suspicious the guy was, but he was going to try and play it friendly, see what he could figure out. He pulled his own cigarette out from the pack in his pocket, moving to stand beside the stranger as he put it up to his lips. With a snap of the end, it lit itself.

The man gave a small, almost disgusted laugh. “Not the same as the old ones.”

They let the silence seep in long enough for them to take a drag of their respective cigarettes before Matt admitted, “I’ve never tried one of the old ones.”

“You’re missing out, man.”

“They any different? Besides the way you light them.”

“Feel smoother. Not as harsh of a chemical sting. Y’know, since there’s none of that bullshit to make it self light.”

There was another smoke filled pause. Matt had expected someone either unaware of what they were standing in the middle of or a fan too shy to make themselves known. Instead he was getting dismissed and belittled even though the man had apparently been at the show, and there alone at that. But his growing curiosity outweighed his growing feeling of being insulted. He wasn’t backing off that quick. “Can I try one?”

The man stared at him for a second, then shrugged. “Sure, but you gotta trade me something. These things aren’t as cheap as they used to be.”

“Trade you? Like what?” Matt gave him a lopsided smile. At least he was getting somewhere.

Though he couldn’t tell for sure with the sunglasses, Matt felt like the man was looking him over. He was about to quip that he wasn’t  _ that _ type of android when the man spoke first. “Answer some questions for me.”

That wasn’t what Matt was expecting at all. An autograph, sure. Pictures, why not. A video to send to friends, wouldn’t be the first time. But answering questions? He was an entertainer, what info could he have that would be of any value to someone other than an interviewer? “Uh, sure, man.” 

Holding his lit one in his mouth, the man pulled one of the separate-lights from the pack in his pocket and handed it to Matt. Matt put his self-light out on the concrete and took the separate-light with a mumbled thanks. He held it between his fingers, taking note of the differences. There weren't as many as he'd thought there'd be. It was a little shorter, maybe a touch lighter, and made of plain white paper with the brand name written small around it rather than the boldly colored cotton of the self-lights. But otherwise it fit the same between his fingers and the same smell still came off of it. Matt didn't notice the man was holding out his opened lighter until he impatiently gestured with it. Even seeing the plastic container of fluid with a string light sized flame flickering from it up close was a new experience. He wanted to watch it for a moment but rather than further try the man’s patience, he held the cigarette out, letting the man burn the end with the lighter until it caught. He figured, or more like hoped for his reputation’s sake, that both types of cigarettes worked the same. Sure enough, he put the end closer to the branding between his lips and got a draw of smoke out of it. 

The first, cautious breath of it wasn’t too different than the first draw of a self-light on a much needed smoke break. Stinging, but a familiar, even comforting stinging. It took the second, longer drag for him to start to notice the slight differences. The smoke felt hotter and drier from the paper of the separate-lights rather than cotton, heavier from what he guessed was more ash, and, sure enough, the stinging on that second draw had already dropped substantially to about the same level as self-lights on their last draw. He blew the smoke out, slow and thoughtful, into the night, looking for any noticeable differences in it too as it caught the cold white glow of the lights lining the edge of the venue above them.

“First question."

Matt had almost forgot about their deal, caught up in the experience of the new cigarette. He took a short drag and said, "Oh, right. Shoot."

"What model are you?"

A bit of smoke came out with Matt's laugh. That was as direct of a question as he'd ever heard. "1N-KLR. Why?"

"What models are the others?" The man asked, ignoring Matt's return question.

He couldn't understand why this information would interest someone, but Matt answered anyway. "Brad and Neil are original 1Ns that’ve been upgraded with some of the KLR tech. Barry’s a different brand altogether, some sort of Botyk, I think. And I can’t even pronounce Dani’s brand. It’s Russian.”

The man nodded, like Matt had given him an interesting piece of gossip rather the basics of his android bandmates. Did he even know what the difference was? He didn't seem like the type to keep up on current technology, if his choice of smokes was any indication.

They both took another draw of their cigarettes, Matt a little warily. The man seemed to be gearing up for a third question and he was only getting more suspicious the longer they spent together.

“How much do you know about the previous lead singer?”

Matt forced a puff of smoke out of his nose, almost missing the sting of his self-lights then. He’d heard mentions of Adam since he joined the band, from interviewers, fans, and the band and crew themselves. When he first joined the higher ups had laid out everything that had happened with Adam suddenly leaving and gave him a summary of his history with the band, but that was about it. Other than some of the more petty fans being mad they had the same hair color, he didn’t even know what the guy looked like. But he took an extra inhale of smoke and answered, “Enough, I think.”

“You don’t sound sure about that.”

Matt shrugged. “It’s still a sore topic. The others don’t like talking about it much so I don’t bring it up.” He smirked, playful, but also wanting out of the hot seat. “Why, you know him or something?”

The man gave him a single curt nod. “Sure do.”

He must’ve known him personally. There was no way this guy was with the media. Media people liked to make themselves known, be as flashy and extravagant and fake energetic as possible. The man was the complete opposite, almost assassin-like. “So what are you doing here? Spying on us for him?”

“Yeah.” No sugar coating, no ambiguity, just the straight answer. A part of Matt appreciated that.

Still, he couldn’t help the sharpness in his voice. “Well, hope you enjoyed the show then. Tell him good things.”

“You’re doing better than I thought.” Matt couldn’t tell if the “you’re” referred to the band as a whole or him specifically. He’d take it as some sort of backhanded compliment either way.

The man finished off his cigarette, flicking it to the ground and stomping it out with a bit more force than was necessary. Matt didn’t budge, preferring to keep a cautious eye on him instead, ready to call Shawn over if anything started. 

With a huff, the man jammed his gloved hands into his hoodie’s pockets. He didn’t pull out another separate-light but he lingered there leaning against the wall. Matt got another, uneasy drag into his cigarette before either spoke again. 

“You know, these old things are pretty good,” Matt broke the silence, gesturing with his cigarette. Maybe if he smoothed things over he could get a bit more info before they parted ways, or came to blows. Whichever happened first.

“Sometimes shiny and new isn’t the way to go,” the man jabbed.

“You don’t look like the type to know anything about shiny and new,” Matt jabbed back, defensively. And it wasn’t unfounded when the guy was smoking the old, almost extinct style of cigarettes and looked like he’d pieced together his outfit from every black scrap he could find at a secondhand shop.

“I know more about it than you think.” The man looked at Matt and pulled his sunglasses down just far enough to show him his eyes. They were blue. Not a typical, human blue, but a bright, unnatural color to rival Matt's. An android blue.

The man smirked as he fixed his glasses. Matt’s expression must’ve given him away. He figured he was just some random human like the rest of the crowd had been, as if Matt would even be talking to him in the first place if he had been anything like the rest of the crowd.

“Everything’s new at some point, Matt,” the man said. He added, "Take care of your brother," before walking off into the night, leaving Matt behind with the rest of his separate-light and more questions than answers.

**Author's Note:**

> <s>How obvious is it that I've never smoked in my life?</s>  
N/A for this chapter specifically, though here's my writing playlist for this fic in general if that's of interest to anyone. Fair warning that the songs give away spoilers.  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5536uhlNi1aVUMaJqDKDI5


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